RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 466 BC in Meroë, much of the life of Baskomanisken is unknown other than they were a vile sorcerer born without eyes who conjured a portal to alternate dimensions, discovered the secret for long life and spent most of it thirsting for blood and glory in gladiator pits across space and time.
Born 125 BC in Sinope, Ted was raised by circus freaks and has become well known for his talents as an animal whisperer. He was enslaved by the invading Romans and sent to Rome to toil in the gladiator business.
Born 212 AD in Hispalis, Maxim was slave to a cyborg patrician. Upon learning of his master’s secret he was sent to the gladiator pits; skilled with a knife, became a successful fan favourite who always fought with slurpee in hand.
Born in 182 AD in Rome, Herta is the cold blooded guard captain for Emperor Caracalla who plotted his assassination by sowing discontent amongst the troops and turning a blind eye while a soldier stabbed him to death as he was urinating.
Born in 496 AD in Cuenca in a dimension where the Roman Empire had conquered America, not much else is known about Killa other than they are a bloodthirsty, undefeated gladiator known as the Cyberdemon who hops dimensions to challenge new foes across space and time.
Born 166 BC in Carthage as a barracks slave, Gene was freed by Gaius Marius after saving his life during the Jugurthine Wars, becoming a loyal bodyguard to the Consul.
Born in 349 AD in Ephesus, Dag lived his life plundering cities and towns across Asia, so it was only natural that he continue his reign of terror after falling through a crevasse and portaling to a distant future alternate dimension.
Born in 358 AD in Brigantium, Spubler is a florist turned soldier who passed through a portal in the Tower of Hercules to the 12th century AD where he fought a guerilla campaign against the Moors who disavowed the cultivation of roses.
Born in 51 AD in Virunum, Acca, the daughter of a Roman general and a servant woman, was raised in the Second Legion and became a fiercely loyal soldier for the Flavian Emperors. It is said that Acca died attempting to prevent the assassination of Domitian.
Born in 99 AD in Spain during they heyday of Emperor Trajan, Augustina was sent to the to the gladiator pits after being falsely accused of murdering her parents. After showing great promise as a fighter, she was recruited by a women’s gladiator league from the 28th century AD.
Born in 144 BC in Gordion, Morys, a blacksmith, and his brother Pierpont, an accountant, were enslaved by the Romans and forced into gladiator combat. Morys was shipped off to an alternate dimension, dedicating his life to return and watch over his younger sibling.
Born 2178 AD in Toletum, Velia is a descendant of King Alaric I, though she finds that about as useful in Neo-Carthage as a souvenir from a forgotten war. A wealthy socialite with a penchant for the morbid, Velia moves through the city’s elite circles with detached amusement. While rebellions and smuggling rings swirl around her, she drifts through it all, unintentionally entangling herself in minor scandals—never quite realizing how close she comes to chaos.
Born in 90 BC in Rome, Cindy Cincinnatus was a loyal centurion who fought with Julius Caesar, using technology from the distant future to help Caesar defeat his enemies; however, she could not foresee his assassination and took her own life out of shame.
Born 201 BC in Petra, Gamila was a servant of at the Temple of Dushara. One day she spoke a strange incantation which opened an interdimensional portal that transported her to a 28th century AD alternate dimension where she was forced to fight as a gladiator.
Born 355 BC in Valentia, Elix is a mysterious, itinerant clairvoyant who is known for her ability to predict the future and communicate with alternate dimensions so accurately that she constantly must stay on the move to escape time traveling cyborg witch hunters.
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© 2023 RomanPunks NFT
romanpunks@protonmail.ch
Registered in Ontario, Canada
